No spark in '08
December 31, 2008
Clontibret never quite caught fire in 2008 as their bid for a third successive county SFC came unhinged against Carrickmacross at the semi-final stage and their Owen Ward Cup campaign ended with a semi-final play-off defeat to Castleblayney. Thus, it was a disappointing year all round for the O'Neill's first team - but young county star Conor McManus doesn't fancy finishing another season
empty-handed any time soon
With their championship defence up in smoke after a surprise 1-13 to 1-11 semi-final defeat to Carrickmacross at Aughnamullen in late September, Clontibret turned their attention to the Division One league in an attempt to salvage something from a disappointing year. A 1-9 to 2-6 draw at home to Castleblayney in the last round meant a three-way play-off to see which two teams would progress to complete the last four. Doohamlet beat 'Blayney to advance and Clontibret faced the Faughs in the second play-off in Inniskeen on Wednesday November 5. Defeat spelt the end of Clontibret's defence of the league crown and also the end of their year..
The SFC loss to Carrick' was way more disappointing, though. Clontibret were attempting to win three senior titles on the trot for the first time since the early '50s and were caught out by a late burst from the south county men. Though they played arguably their best football of the entire knockout in the closing stages of the first half, the defending champions never quite hit form at any stage over the course of the year and could have no complaints about their elimination. They were missing key men at vital junctures throughout '08 as well, with Dessie Mone a notable absentee for the ill-fated 'semi'.
Ironically, Clontibret (who scooped a brilliant reserve league and championship double in '08) had booked their semi-final spot with a dramatic 1-8 to 0-10 replay victory over would-be champions Latton at Scotstown on Saturday afternoon, September 6. Fergal Mone fired the winning goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time but even that lifeline failed to ignite the champions' campaign and Latton regrouped to reclaim the Mick Duffy Cup via the scenic route.
Having finished a season empty-handed for the first time since breaking onto the team, rising county man Conor McManus won't look back on the 2008 club campaign with too much fondness. However, he hopes the team can put their experience to good use and come back stronger and more determined in 2009. Was there pressure on the players going for the three-in-a-row?
"To be honest, we didn't look at it as three-in-a-row. It was just another chance to win a championship and we let it slip. It just didn't happen for us last year and we were disappointed to let it go"
Any theories as to where it all went wrong? Why couldn't Clontibret reproduce the form that saw then put jubilant campaigns back to back? "On the day of the semi-final, we had a poor start to the game against Carrickmacross but we came back well and got on top. But they hit us at the right time with a goal and a point and we didn't have a chance to respond.
"We probably weren't firing on all cylinders all year. Without making excuses, we were badly hit by injuries too, with five of the starting seven defenders from 2007 all unavailable for the Carrick' game. When you're county champions, teams like Carrick', Latton and Castleblayney are all out to knock you down, and maybe we didn't push as hard as we could have."
Conor was a revelation with the Monaghan seniors in '08 and his performances in the intercounty arena singled him out as a man to watch for many years to come. If Monaghan are to finally fulfil their potential in '09, then the versatile Clontibret attacker will have a leading role to play. He burst onto the club's first team towards the end of 2005 and helped Clontibret to an Owen Ward Cup success that year. He was a regular performer for the next two years as the SFC was annexed and then retained - but drew a rare blank on the silverware front last term. "It's my first year to win nothing," he reflects thoughtfully. "Hopefully, the setback can drive me on. I'm hoping the team can regroup and give it a big push next year. Damien Moen and Sean Hughes put in a huge effort as managers last year and you couldn't have asked for anything more from them. The backroom staff couldn't possibly have done any more, but the players just didn't click for some reason."
What was the essential difference between 2008 and the previous two years? Did Clontibret actually play a lot better in '06 and '07, or did they just not get the breaks this time? "In general, we just didn't hit the high notes of 2006 and 2007. We didn't play badly or anything, but we just weren't as free-flowing as we had been and we weren't killing teams off. The small things all add up and we were caught on the day in a few different games."
How seriously does a club like Clontibret take the league? Remember, they were defending both the Mick Duffy and Owen Ward Cups in 2008. Would a Division One title have provided some consolation? "It's the second best trophy you can win in Monaghan. If you asked any team that was after winning an intermediate championship, would they swap it for a senior league, I think I know what the answer would be. We wanted to go for it and we gave it our best shot under the circumstances, but it was hard to bounce back after the Carrickmacross game and also to cope with all the injuries. We were well stretched late in the season."
On the county front, Conor was a key component in Banty's gameplan as Monaghan recovered from their defeat to Fermanagh by eliminating Derry and Donegal before Kerry once more ended the dream in the third qualifying round at Croke Park. "It was an enjoyable year but unfortunately it ended on exactly the same note as 2007, against Kerry again. And, once more, it was a game we could have won. We took Kerry close again but at the moment we're the nearly men and that's not enough for this team.
"This year was always going to be hard after the good run in 2007. We were very disappointed to fall at the first hurdle but we regrouped well and we proved that we're not a one-off."
Looking ahead to 2009, Conor's ambition with club and county is pretty much the same it can be summed up in one word SILVERWARE. "I would hope there'll be more silverware at the end of it. With the county, we still haven't won any and the Ulster championship will be our aim again from the start of the year. All the teams in Ulster will be going all out to win it and Monaghan are no different.
"With Clontibret, it's no different than any other year. There are ten senior teams and we all want to win the senior football championship. We're hoping to get back to where we were. We have the players and we have proven that we can do it, so it's just a matter of getting things together and delivering on the day.
"In the past three years, senior football in Monaghan has been very competitive. Any one of four teams could have won the SFC in 2008 and there are five or six who'll all be in with a big shout next year. Indeed, as I said earlier, all ten will have aspirations of winning it, which all makes for a competitive championship.
"After the disappointment of last year, it's up to us to knuckle down and bring the championship back to Clontibret."
The Clontibret team that beat Latton in a replay to progress to the semi-finals of the 2008 Monaghan SFC: Michael Thompson; Colm Greenan, Paul McGuigan, Martin Corey; Darrach Mooney, Dessie Mone, Paraic Duffy; John Paul Mone, John Golden; Rodney Gorman, Vincent Corey (0-1), Conor McManus (0-4); Ronan Murphy, Brendan Og Magennis (0-1), Fergal Mone (1-2). Subs: Padraig McGuigan for D Mooney, Daithi McKeown for J Golden, Michael Hughes for C Greenan, Paraic Boyle for P Duffy.
Murphy's memories
Pat Murphy was one of Monaghan's best players during the 'fifties. Apart from collecting an All-Ireland JFC medal, he also won a hat-trick of senior county championship honours.
Pat Murphy isn't one for looking back on the days of yore with rose-tinted glasses but he's not convinced that Gaelic football these days is anything to write home about either.
The popular Hall of Fame Award winner loved playing football at the highest level in the 'fifties but has fallen out of love a bit with the modern game.
"I can't say that I'm that keen on all the hand-passing that you see in the game nowadays," the Ardaghey native admits, "and there's too much bunching.
"The hand-passing is the big thing though; a lot of teams seem to overdo it - handpassing just for the sake of handpassing at times.
"I remember when Donegal won the All-Ireland in the early nineties. The type of football they played then might have been successful but it wasn't pleasant on the eye.
"I'd have to say though that there seems to be a trend among the top teams now to go back to the more traditional style of football which is good to see."
Of course the former Clontibret star isn't alone in venting his frustration at the preponderance of handpassing. He did hail though from a time when football was in its purist form.
"When we were playing it was strictly catch and kick for the most part. Training was nothing like what it is today. You'd run on the road or go into the field and have a few shots at goal.
"There were none of the drills in training then that even clubs go in for now; it was definitely a more simple game but possibly more enjoyable for the players all the same."
Then again the self-same Murphy achieved a lot of success which would have added to his sense of enjoyment as a midfielder 'cum attacker for club and county.
He won three senior football championship medals with the O'Neills, 1955, '56, '58. Those medals didn't come cheaply though. Others lay claim on those titles with great zeal.
"There was great rivalry at club level back then, especially between us and Ballybay. I suppose the rivalry at club level helped get together a very good team at county level."
The county set-up actually benefited to the tune of an All-Ireland JFC title in 1956 when Pat was joined on the Monaghan side by clubmates Pat Clarke (captain) and Jim Woods.
Ironically, Pat's debut season with Clontibret at senior level came just 12 months before he scooped his All-Ireland medal.
"I played junior in '54 and then made my debut at senior level in the championship of '55 which was fortunate because the club hadn't won the championship since '52.
"I was what you could call a late developer 'cause I was 23 when we won the championship in '55. I hadn't played much football before that. I was the only footballer in the family.
"I played a lot of football as a youngster of course, around the fields and in Francie McNally's meadow but it wasn't until 1954 that I started to play regularly for the club.
"I was a student at St. Pat's teacher training college in Drumcondra up until 1953 and then I came home to teach locally. I ended up being in three different schools around the parish.
"Leangare, Lisnagrieve and Annyalla national schools were the three schools and after 17 years in Annyalla I retired in 1993."
Pat made the step-up from junior in '54 to senior the following year with the minimum of fuss. He felt he was good enough to play senior and his self-belief was duly borne out.
As things panned out though, Pat recalls how he and the rest of the Clontibret team were left on tenterhooks in the run-up to the 1955 SFC final:
"Nobody knew the team beforehand. We didn't know who was on the team to play Ballybay until we got to 'blayney and the team was read out there and then in the dressing-room."
There was something less than straight forward too about the Monaghan line-up for the 1956 All-Ireland JFC final tussle with London in a game played in Carrickmacross.
"Seamus McElroy (Latton) was injured in the first half and I was sent into play at midfield, having been lined out in the half-forward line."
One suspects that the clash with London represented an almighty banana skin?
"We were going up against an unknown quantity really. I remember we scored the first point of the game but after that I'm not sure how things went.
"I suppose we were on a hiding to nothing but London probably went into that game saying to themselves that they had nothing to lose.
"We would have been hot favourites I'm sure having beaten Kildare in Newbridge in the 'home' final before that. They were a tough team but we beat them well.
"They were the home team but we had a lot of support behind us and I didn't think there was any stage during the game when we were in danger of losing to Kildare.
"Monaghan football was on a high in the early to mid-fifties anyway. The senior team had lost the 1952 Ulster final to Cavan and there was a lot of good footballers in the county then."
What about the theory much expounded in county Monaghan down the years that the Orielmen were the second best team in Ireland that year?
"Cavan went onto win the All-Ireland that year of course and there was definitely a lot of truth in the view that Monaghan should have beaten them in the Ulster final in Breffni Park.
"I remember Monaghan were well ahead at one stage but they got a slack goal and got that bit of luck on the day. It is arguable that Monaghan were the second best in Ireland then."
Interestingly, Pat reveals that he got as much of a buzz winning the county championship titles with Clontibret as he did winning his All-Ireland junior gong.
He says that, for a lot of players, the priority in those days was to compete for your club and win as much as you could.
After a thankfully injury-free career, he hung up his boots in 1967. "The club went ahead and won the county title again the following year without me," he quips.
"I have no regrets though. I enjoyed my career with Clontibret and Monaghan and took part in some great football matches with and against some great players."
Such as who?
"Well, we had a string of lads who were as good as you'd see anywhere in the country. Men who were recognised as being as good as any of their peers.
"I'm thinking of the likes of John Rice who was good enough to be named in any All-Ireland team, he was that good. He played for Ireland against the Combined Universities in '56.
"There were players like John Murray and Packie McQuaid who were brillant players. Cavan's Gabriel Kelly was another great player.
"There were seven Clontibret men on the Monaghan senior team that played against Cavan in the 1952 Ulster senior final which shows you what team we had.
"We played in a lot of tournaments like in Omagh and Crossmaglen. The one in Omagh was like the modern-day Ulster club championship and we won it four times."
Following the end of his football career, the now 75-year old gael poured a lot of his energy into the bolstering of the administrative side of things at Clontibret.
He also gravitated to the county board and county juvenile board and thereafter in the sixties, he was a member of the Ulster Council.
Although he says he doesn't attend as many matches these days as he used to in times past, he believes that Doohamlet could be the up-and-coming team in Monaghan at the present time.
"I still think we (Clontibret) can get back to our best in 2009 and put the past year behind us."
And what of Banty's boys?
"With a bit of luck they could have beaten Kerry in the championship last summer," he reflects.
"They're still a young team and I still think they have an Ulster (title) in them. There's not much between any of the teams."
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